Her Hero
by olicityplease
Summary: Felicity Smoak lost the love of her life and had mourned him. But now he's back. Will things ever be the same?
1. Chapter 1

"_Breaking news: Channel 52 can confirm the man known as the Arrow has returned to Starling City. He was spotted in the Glades fighting Danny 'Brick' Brickwell as well as dozens of others who were released by SCPD only a week ago due to all the evidence in their cases being stolen. The Arrow was seen with the Red Arrow, the Dark Archer, a woman dressed in black, and hundreds of citizens. The brawl ended with no deaths, but many injured who were brought to Starling General. We'll have more information on the nightly news at ten. Back to you, Marc."_

Felicity had the news report on repeat for the past twenty minutes and still couldn't believe what she heard. That wasn't true. She believed it, she just couldn't accept it. "The Arrow Returns" was the headline going across the bottom of her screen, but she wasn't sure what to make of it.

Oliver was alive. Oliver, who she had been convinced had been gone forever, was back. But he wasn't, not really. He hadn't come back to _her_. He didn't go straight to the foundry and see _her_. He went to fight for the city. Because the city will always come first. Felicity knew that and she accepted it, but in that moment, she was furious. He had let her believe he was dead for weeks and she _mourned_ him. She mourned her friend, her partner, her... _whatever they were_.

Felicity heard the door at the top of the stairs in the foundry open and knew he had finally come to see her. _After_ saving the city. _After_ choosing the Arrow before Oliver Queen.

At the sound of his footsteps reaching the bottom of the stairs, Felicity turned to look at him and gasped. She had expected to find him hunched over or dying or _something_, but he was standing tall, as if he hadn't been stabbed with a sword. But Felicity knew he had been stabbed – she had the sword and the blood test to prove it.

He was in his full Arrow gear with the hood down, encompassing everything he is to her. She didn't even hesitate when he crossed the room in four strides to pull her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed so hard she was sure he couldn't breathe. She felt his heartbeat, strong and steady; his breath warm on her shoulder; the warmth of his hand against her waist. He had completely taken over all of her senses. Everything in that moment was him. It was _them_.

But then, as always, reality came crashing back to Felicity. She remembered the pain she felt when he left, when he didn't come back, and when Malcolm Merlyn laid the sword with his blood on it in front of her. She pulled back from Oliver with tears in her eyes, and resentment in her heart.

Things could never go back to how they were before he left. _They_ could never go back. She promised herself in that moment, staring into the blue orbs of his eyes that had always captivated her, that she wouldn't feel that pain again. That pain of losing the man she loved.

"Felicity." Oliver whispered, loosening his hold on her just to put her face between his hands. "I love you. I'm so sorry I left, but I promise that-"

"No." Felicity cut him off, removing his hands from her face. The tears were falling down her cheeks at a pace that could give Barry a run for his money. She stepped away from Oliver and wrapped her arms around herself, subconsciously protecting herself from the heartbreak she was about to cause. "I can't do this, Oliver. I don't want to be a woman you love. Not like this. You were dead, Oliver. Malcolm came and told us you were dead, but here you are. And that's great! I can't put into words how happy I am that you're alive, but I can't do this anymore. I love you, Oliver. I love every part of you. I love that you will put your city first and that you would die for your sister. But I need someone who doesn't have the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. I need to be with someone who doesn't come close to death every night. I wish that was you, but it's not. You're a hero, Oliver. I don't want you to give that up, because if your absence has proven anything, it's that this city needs you. It needs you more than I do."

Felicity wiped the tears from her cheeks before standing up straight, refusing to show that her heart had just shattered. She grabbed her purse and coat from the table of computers next to her, let her eyes linger on the man she loved for another moment, and walked out of the foundry. As the door swung open, she heard whispered words from deep in the foundry that sounded awfully close to "_One day, Felicity Smoak. One day_." Felicity convinced herself that her ears were playing tricks on her at the same time hoping it was a promise to her and closed the door, leaving her heart with the man inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver made his way down the steps in the foundry with a heaviness in his heart. His patrol in the Glades was supposed to make him feel better, but all it did was give him even more time to think. He would like to be able to say he thought about his family or the few friends he still had, but that would be a lie. His only thought was of Felicity. His heart hadn't beat for another woman in years and his mind had decided to drive him crazy with thoughts of his Girl Friday.

After putting his gear away and showering, Oliver was about to call it a night when his phone rang on the table by Felicity's computer. It was well past midnight and he considered ignoring it, but thought better of it and checked the caller ID. Felicity's picture was flashing across the screen and his heartbeat stupidly beat faster at the anticipation that she was calling him.

She hadn't called him in months. Not since she made the decision to leave the team – and him. She had told the team a few days after she told Oliver they couldn't go back to what they were before he left and her explanation in leaving the team was very brief:

"_I just need to figure out who I am away from all of this. This has nothing to do with any of you, but I think this is the best thing for me. For all of us. I hope we can stay in contact and remain friends."_

Suffice it to say, they hadn't stayed in contact and hadn't remained friends.

Oliver finally answered the phone on the fourth ring with a hesitant "Felicity?" He heard the rustling on the other end of the line and thought she had hung up, but after checking his phone, saw the call was still connected. He took a deep breath and waited, knowing there was a reason for her to be calling him. He was just about ready to just ask her why she was calling when she started talking.

"Oliver! Hey! Uh, sorry to call so late, but I had no one else to call and I really needed someone to talk to. No, that's a lie. I really needed to talk to _you, _and I was wondering if- No. You know what? Never mind. This was stupid. Sorry for bothering you, Oliver. I'll just-"

"You aren't bothering me, Felicity. You could never bother me." Oliver said, cutting her off mid-sentence. They may have been distant lately, but his love for her hadn't waivered – would never waiver – and if she needed him, he would be there in a heartbeat. "What do you need?" He finished, concern etching into his voice.

He heard Felicity take a deep breath before saying, "Can you come over? Wow. That wasn't supposed to sound so… 3…2…1. Can you come by my place so we can talk?" He heard as she let out a frustrated sigh and he could picture her rolling her eyes to the back of her head at her babbling.

God, he missed her.

"Yeah. I'll be there in twenty minutes. See you soon." Oliver replied, hanging up before she could change her mind. He had been waiting for a chance like this ever since she left him in the foundry speechless, and he wasn't going to let it pass him by.

Twenty minutes later, Oliver found himself knocking on Felicity's door with a bottle of wine in one hand and some Big Belly Burger in the other. He had texted Felicity on his way over if she was hungry and she replied with the typical Felicity answer of _"Bring wine"_, so he got her favorite cheeseburger – extra cheese, no pickles – and the nicest bottle of wine he could find at the club (red, of course).

He heard the door unlock seconds before Felicity swung the door open and pulled him inside with her, slamming the door behind them. Oliver stared wide-eyed at Felicity, unsure of what was going on. She grabbed the wine out of his left hand, completely ignoring the food in his right, and made her way to the kitchen. He watched her as she opened the wine and poured herself a glass. He took the opportunity to take her in since he hadn't seen her in so long. Her hair was pulled up into her high ponytail, her glasses askew on her make-up free face. She was wearing sweatpants and a tank top that showed a sliver of skin above the waistband of her sweats that made Oliver's breath catch. He wanted nothing more than to pin her against the door and run his hand along her soft, smooth skin before slowly-

"Oliver!" Felicity shouted, bringing him back to reality. "I've called your name, like, four times. Are you okay?"

Oliver cleared his throat, trying to buy some time to get himself together, before bringing his eyes up to hers and smiling. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. Are you okay? You seem… nervous." She was holding a glass of wine and he noticed her hands were shaking and she kept averting her eyes from his. "Are you and Ray okay?" Oliver hated to ask, but Diggle had told him that she had been seeing the man in a not-so-platonic way and as much as it hurt him to know she was with another man, he wanted her to be happy. If Ray made her happy in a way Oliver couldn't, he needed to accept that.

"That's why I called you over here, actually." Felicity told him, setting down her now empty wine glass. She had been leaning against the wall in the threshold to her kitchen and Oliver hadn't moved since Felicity pulled him inside, so when she took a step toward him, there was only about five feet of distance remaining between them. "We broke up." She finally blurted out. "Me and Ray, I mean."

Oliver felt the world still as her words settled around him. He felt the tiniest glint of hope well inside of him and he couldn't help but grasp onto it, finally feeling alive for the first time since the door of the foundry closed behind her.

"_One day, Felicity Smoak. One day."_ He had muttered to an empty foundry. Was that day today?

Oliver took a deep breath, set the bag of food he had been holding onto by the door, and stepped towards her hesitantly. "So… What does that have to do with me being here? Not that I'm not happy to be here, because I am. But we haven't talked in months and tonight you call me out of the blue and tell me to come over here and that you and Palmer broke up… I guess I just want to know what that has to do with… us." He said, gesturing between them.

"This has everything to do with us!" Felicity told him, tears in her eyes. "I thought that when I left the team, I'd be able to move on with my life. I thought dating Ray would help me move on from you, but that didn't happen! I still find myself wishing I was in the foundry with you guys, helping the city. When I was with Ray, I thought about you. When he told me he loved me, I realized I couldn't say it back because my heart hasn't been mine to give to him. You… You have held my heart since you walked into my office at Queen Consolidated with a broken laptop and lame excuses. It has always been you, Oliver. It will always be _you_. These last six months have been the most miserable months of my life. I thought that by pushing you away and ending all contact with you I would get over you, but I haven't. Not one bit. My heart never raced for him when he kissed me, but just your name makes me feel like I'm going into cardiac arrest! I wake up every day thinking about you, and fall asleep every night wishing you were with me. I was stupid to push you away like that and I hope you can forgi-"

Oliver cut her off with his lips against hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him in one fluid motion. Everything in that moment was about them: their love, their future, their need for each other. As Oliver lifted her bridal style and carried her to her bedroom, he smiled against her lips and said "I love you, Felicity. I have loved you since I met you and I plan on spending the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me."

Oliver kissed her deeply once again before pulling back and laying her on the bed. He covered her body with his as she said "I love you, too. Now stop talking and kiss me."

Oliver smiled and happily obliged, thinking that they were finally done running from each other. He knew this was just the beginning of the love story they would one day tell their kids and grandkids.


End file.
